2013 Hawaii Business Top 250: Biggest Gainers

Servco, other car dealers, plus HR and construction companies dominate the list of fastest growing companies on the Top 250

August, 2013

Strong car sales, a booming human resources outsourcing industry and a surge in construction are the reasons behind many of the biggest gains in revenue on the Hawaii Business Top 250.

As the state’s automotive industry keeps rebounding from the recession with steady sales increases for most local dealers, Servco Pacific is also making significant gains in Australia. Overall, it reported an increase in gross annual sales of 68 percent over four years, from $548 million in 2009 to $923 million in 2012.

Servco’s boom has continued into the first half of 2013. While exact figures are still being calculated, chairman and CEO Mark Fukunaga says Servco estimates it will reach $1.05 billion in gross annual sales for its fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2013. Crossing that threshold would add Servco to the six other companies on the Top 250 list that each have more than $1 billion in annual gross sales.

“A good part of that growth is because of our five car dealerships in Australia. About a third of our business and a third of our employees come from the Toyota and Lexus dealerships there,” says Fukunaga.

Servco opened its first Australian car dealership in Brisbane in 2007 and is looking toward more growth there.

Meanwhile, Hawaii car sales are rising.

“Typically, Hawaii car sales for all local dealers are between 45,000 to 50,000 retail units a year. It has gone as high as 66,000. But after the global financial crisis, it went down to 33,000,” Fukunaga explains. “We’ve been climbing out of a very deep trough, but, this year, we expect it to get back to a healthy market of between 45,000 to 46,000 units.”

He says Servco will also continue expanding its insurance business on the mainland. It currently has brokerage offices in Seattle and Tacoma, specializing in marine, general property and casualty insurance.

Other top gainers on the Top 250 list include many construction companies and a pair of companies that serve the HR needs of other companies.

Matt Delaney, CEO and president of Hawaii Human Resources (HiHR), says business is booming.

“Eighty-nine percent of Hawaii’s businesses have 19 or fewer employees,” he explains. “… That’s the perfect demographic for HR outsourcing, because a company of 19 can’t afford its own HR department. That’s one of the main reasons these (HR-outsourcing) businesses will continue to grow.”

Delaney co-founded HiHR in 2008, and the company entered the Top 250 in 2011 at 201st. This year, it ranked 97th. Gross annual sales were $6 million in 2009 and rose to $110 million in 2012 – a 17-fold increase over four years.

ProService Hawaii, the local leader in the field, has steadily climbed the Top 250 rankings from 26th in 2009 to 17th in 2012, going from $299 million in gross annual sales in 2009 to $571 million in 2012 – a 91 percent increase over four years.

Dustin Sellers, ProService’s president of marketing and business development, says he doesn’t believe any industry is recession proof, but is convinced HR oursourcing will continue to thrive.

“Many of our existing clients had to downsize during the recession, but growth and awareness of our industry more than offsets that downsize,” he explains. “These types of services are something every business is considering.”